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Rescuers Prep for Hybrid Car Accidents

Posted by michael on from the hair-raising-experiences dept.

mykepredko writes "I've driven a Toyota Prius for two years now and found this CNN article regarding the training required to rescue people trapped in hybrid cars to be slightly alarming. As an EE, I would expect that the electrical system is designed to be as well protected and fail-safe as possible in an accident, but if I'm ever in an accident, I'll make sure that any responders are wearing rubber gloves and boots and if any cutting is done, the roof is the only area they touch." Toyota has an accident guide indicating that if the airbags deploy, the hybrid battery pack should be automatically isolated.

7 of 620 comments (clear)

  1. Wait a sec .... by (54)T-Dub · · Score: 5, Funny
    Rescuers prep for hybrid car accidents
    The growing popularity of hybrid vehicles poses a new danger for rescuers at accident scenes: a network of high-voltage circuitry that may require some precise cutting to save a trapped victim
    ........


    Copyright 2004 Exxon Mobile. All rights reserved. This material may be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
    Hmmm, something seems fishy here.
    --

    "I can not bring myself to believe that if knowledge presents danger, the solution is ignorance" - Isaac Asimov
    1. Re:Wait a sec .... by ardmhacha · · Score: 5, Funny

      Copyright 2004 Exxon Mobile.

      Are they some sort of cellphone company ?

      If you are going to alter the article you could at least spell it correctly :)

  2. All I can say by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Is that this news is shocking.

  3. Sound Effects by daeley · · Score: 5, Funny

    Never mind you electric car drivers, what about we poor bicyclists and pedestrians who can't hear you coming?

    I'd like to suggest new electric cars be equipped with Jetsons-style "whuwuwuwuwuuwu" sounds as a safety feature. Actually, this might very well be an untapped commercial opportunity: custom car sound effects. Drive a wagon train! Drive a steam train! Drive the U.S.S. Enterprise! Be ironic and drive a Hummer!

    --
    I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate.
    1. Re:Sound Effects by ewhac · · Score: 5, Funny
      Or be like the kids in my neighborhood and drive a mobile dance club.

      thump thump thump thump thump thump

      Thump thump thump? The kids in your neighborhood are into waltzes?

      Schwab

      --
      Editor, A1-AAA AmeriCaptions
  4. Re:That's shocking!!! by daeley · · Score: 5, Funny

    I have a lot of resistance to that sort of humor.

    --
    I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate.
  5. The radio by stealthmidget · · Score: 5, Funny

    But the big question remains: will the radio still work after an accident? Anyone ever notice in those shows you see about car accident rescues (Rescue 911, cops, etc.), everytime they arrive at the scene of an accident, the radio is NEVER on?